Little Red Wagon First Birthday Party

After years of totally lame parties, we finally scored a fun, clever first birthday party--it sure helps that Travis is happy and cute!

The Theme

I didn't like the traditional party accessories that I kept running across; I wanted something a little bit different, something simple and classic, so I did a lot of research. It took awhile, but then I found two things that helped solidify the theme.

1. Trav's birthday gift from Pappaw
2. Several other mom's blog posts who had done parties with related themes, and encouraged me that it was possible to do it myself.

Our theme centered around the classic little red wagon. I created banners using scrapbook paper of sky, sand, grass, pebbles, denim, and wooden fences to create an outdoorsy feel.  I made cupcake toppers using the same design as the banners, but smaller and glued onto toothpicks.

Cupcakes

Then I decided on decorating cupcakes. Taking several cupcake decorating classes was very helpful, but I knew I wanted something simple. Using just a couple of colors and a few different decorating tips, I created green grass and white peaks sprinkled with red sugar and sparkly fairy dust. For Travis' special cupcake, I made a jumbo red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting. I thought it was appropriate since I discovered and fell in love with red velvet cake while I was pregnant with Travis (because he didn't like chocolate!).

He had such a fun time tearing apart the cupcake and making a huge mess.

Gifts

By now, I'm sure you're wondering about that gift from Pappaw! It was  a little red Radio Flyer sports coupe. Absolutely adorable. Travis LOVES it! The other kids took turns driving him around the house in it.

As I was trying to think of a birthday gift from Ken and I, I thought how fun it would be to have a little gas pump to go along with the car. But I didn't want to spend much money, so Ken suggested I go online to get a little inspiration on how to make one. Surprisingly, I only found one reference to a homemade gas pump, so I used it for the basic idea, but embellished the idea for a truly unique homemade gift. I'll tell you how I did it in a separate blog post, but for now, here's some teaser photos.

Several months ago, I began a project that took such a long time to complete that it became Travis' second birthday gift. Using a robot theme and coordinating scrapbook paper, I made a matching game.

I took 12 pieces of ready-made craft wood, and decoupaged  rectangles of paper on both sides. One side is all the same design, while the other side has 2 each of 6 designs. I then embroidered a robot onto a little pouch that holds all of the wooden rectangles. It is a little old for him yet, but he'll be able to play before we know it.

We had such a fun time celebrating our little man's first birthday with family and close friends. I'd like to thank our amazing friend, Ashley Terry, for capturing the day with such amazing photos. 

Happenings and Changes!

On our morning walk by the river

Earlier this week, Ken, who has never met a stranger, helped a lady at Loewe's who was fixing her lawnmower. She happened to work for the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort right here in Bastrop, and invited us to visit, so we decided to treat ourselves as a celebration. Though it's only about 10 minutes away, it felt like we were miles away from home. We naively believed that we'd be one of a couple of families sharing the pool, so we were super surprised by the number of people and kids everywhere!!

My great guys

However, we had a great time. We got an upgraded room (with a balcony), and after we ran into Cynthia the next morning, she bought me a coffee and comped our breakfast, which was a delicious buffet! I hope that Travis is as outgoing as Ken--he always meets the nicest people!

We traded off getting massages and playing with Travis in the pool. He was one tired baby, there was so much going on that he would not fall asleep for anything! After 2 hours of trying, he finally fell asleep about 10pm, but woke multiple times to throw up...of course, waking us up in the process. Poor baby got so overheated that it made him sick. He's fine now, and has slept most of the day to catch up on his sleep, and now we know that 3 hours by the pool in this heat is a bad idea. For some reason, we forgot to get photos of us in the pool, but we did get some others.

Sleepy, sleepy baby

Ready for a nap!

We had to visit the horses:  Julius and Cesear

Travis seems to really enjoy the water, though the Hyatt was not his first swimming experience. Last Saturday, we were invited to a pool party, and had a great time with some of Ken's co-workers from ASI.

In the pool!

Sylin' with hats

Bob and Travis meeting

Tuesday, May 24 was my good friend Bob's 60th birthday, and we were invited to a surprise party at the Oasis. Boy, was he ever surprised! I can't help but feel that we were the highlight of his day. As soon as Bob saw that we were there, he made a beeline straight towards us, and Travis went right to him! Later that night, I heard Bob introduce me as his daughter, which, I have to say, made my day! I used to work for Bob, and when he and his wife Candy decided to move to Austin, TX, they brought me along as part of the family, which I've been ever since. Candy passed away several years ago, but I think of her every time I use my sewing machine because it was once hers. I feel that everything I make on it is a tribute to her.

Me, Bob and Trav

Finally some of you may have already heard that Ken has accepted a position with a company called RackSpace. It is here in Austin, and promises to be a new challenge, which Ken is looking forward to. I know that he'll miss his friends at ASI, but we're excited about this new change in our lives.

Congratulations, Daniel!!!

Our good friend, Daniel, recently graduated from the law school at the College of William and Mary near Colonial Williamsburg. We are super proud of him, and we're so excited that he and Laura are heading back to Tucson, Arizona.

Daniel, we just know you're going to be an amazing lawyer!!